Meeting
by Good Day Sunshine
Summary: Their meetings were destined. The laughs, the heartbreak, the flowers, the ring....not really. AliciaxBarrett, Rune Factory 2


**Okay, so this is Alicia and Barrett.**

**Strange pairing? I don't think so! :P I think it's actually pretty cute....**

**But it's crack still. This came to mind when I realize Alicia doesn't have anyone. I also realized that a lot of people don't like Alicia. Why? I mean, she's pretty nice and fun. It is a fantasy game, and her clothes are no big deal. If I may remind, some of the girls in the first game and second have pretty short skirts! :P**

**Written in an hour and a half. 2,896 words.**

**Rated T for mild cursing (Hey, Barrett has a pottymouth sometimes...). Really. I DO NOT OWN RUNE FACTORY BECAUSE IF I DID THEY WOULD MAKE A GIRL-LEAD AND I WOULD GET MARRIED TO KROSS OR LIBRARIAN DUDE FROM RUNE FACTORY ONE. :P**

**Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

She looks up.

"A love reading?" the six year old, purple-clad girl questioned. She has stopped twirling her pale pink hair, and looks up to the setting around her. _Let's see...ugly blue tile, rusty benches around dumb fountain, dumb dock you always fall off, _- she turns around to look - _stupid fountain in the midd- oh!_ The girl finds her suspect behind the fountain.

"G-got a problem with that?" the suspect, a seven year old boy, stammers in a whisper, trying to have force in his voice but failing. He shuffles his feet on the rocks of the dock, palms sweating.

He hides his red face behind the long bangs of his hair and his cream colored scarf.

She raises a baby pink eyebrow.

"Really?" she questions once again, totally unsure of why the boy was even here. Nobody ever came to get readings from her!

"Fine! I'm leaving then!" he shouts and storms away to the plaza, trying to hide his cherry red face from the unsuspecting receiver of his anger.

The girl sighs, and goes back to twirling her hair.

She doesn't chase after the boy.

_Meeting of Fate._

* * *

"I think you like her."

"L-like who?" the eleven year old Barrett sputters as he almost spits out all of his milk.

"Oh, don't you 'Like who?' me! You know exactly what I'm talking about!" the ten year old Alicia says in a voice just a little louder than a whisper, slamming her hands down on the bench in the plaza, eyes darting about as if spies where watching them.

"No. I don't." he lies through his teeth, diverting his eyes from hers and biting his lip.

"Oh, I know you are! But ya don't need to worry, I can tell 'cause I'm a fortune teller. You already know that. You don't need ta be a genius to figure that out...." she scoffs, pointing to her witch hat and clothing.

"S-so?"

"Want me to read your fortune?" Alicia asks, her eyes lighting up in excitement.

"D-don't you need to know the person first? The person I l-like?"

"Weren't ya listenin' to me? I know already! That hair and bandana thingie of yours must be covering all your brain signals..."

"How d'you know if I want my fortune read?" he shouts the question.

She raises a brow.

"How d'you know who she is?"

She gives him a smirk.

Silence.

"Fine! Read it for me!" he demands, growing uncomfortable from her silence. She gives him a sugar-coated smile and sticks out her palm.

"That'll be twenty thousand gold and a strawberry please!"

"AAGH!"

_Meeting of Friendship._

_

* * *

_

"So, Barrett....d'you have a date to the dance festival?" the fourteen year Alicia pried, swinging the ropes of the docks' boats. Barrett's eyes widen to the size of plates and his face turned a nice shade of pink that matched Alicia's hair.

"No!"

"Aww, you're no fun. You should ask Dorothy out. I think she likes ya."

Barrett's face turned an even brighter shade of pink and he started to sputter.

"R-really?"

Alicia tried to hold in a fit of giggles, and by the looks of Barrett's hopeful face, she was doing a good job.

"Yeah."

He was still a bit suspicious, and as soon as he opened his mouth to question her again, Alicia slapped Barrett on the back.

"I'm a fortune teller, I would know if a girl likes ya! Now go get 'er, you shadow panther, you!"

Barrett nods and runs off to ask Dorothy, looking as if he had an extra hop to each step he took.

Alicia pouts, just a bit jealous of Dorothy and all the other girls that had partners to dance with.

"Now, I wonder who I should dance with..."

_Meeting of Mistake._

* * *

"Barrett!" _her_ voice calls out to him.

He looks up from his book and sighs. Ignoring the calls, sixteen year old Barrett shifts around on his bed and frowns deeply at the clock on his bed stand. _Six o' clock, only thirty more minutes.. _

"Barrett!" the voice calls again, sounding impatient.

Barrett rolled once in his bed, and went back to the book in his palms.

_"Barrett!"_ The voice was now next to him, the loud sounds ripping out his eardrums.

"God dammit Alicia, what do you want?" he throws his book at her and crosses his arms.

She only flashes him one of her toothy grins and twirls about in his small room, her violet skirts skimming across the hard wood floor. Alicia plops herself next to Barrett on his tiny bed.

"D'you know what season it is?"

He lets out another big sigh.

"Summer."

Her smile grows wider, threatening to come off the corners of her face.

"And the day?"

"The twenty-eight."

Alicia leans in to him and pokes him in the face repeatedly.

"And d'you know anything special happening today?" she whispers in his ear.

"Nope."

Alicia's huge grin has now fallen off her face and all that is in the room is the ticking of the clock. Barrett turns his head to the clock. _Shit, I'm late._

"Look Alicia.. I gotta go. I, uh, have a double date tonight. With Dorothy. Julia and Max are comin'. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, but I was, umm...kinda busy." he says uncomfortably. Barrett forgets to add in the part where he doesn't want Alicia to follow them on their date.

She is silent, eyes nailed to the floor.

"Okay then...I'll leave now." Barrett flashes across the tiny room, into the hallway, and down the stairs. Alicia flinches when she hears the door slam behind him. She looks up now, looking at the wall as if it was her only friend in the world. With that, she gets up from his bed and murmurs to the dead echoes of sound from the slamming of the front door.

"Today's my birthday."

_Meeting of Heartbreak. _

* * *

_"....We are gathered here today..._"

The eighteen year old Alicia taps her hands on the heavily ornamented bench of the chapel.

She hates weddings.

Hates them with a passion. Maybe it was something from her childhood, how Papa disappeared and left them.....

No.

She should be happy. Kyle, one of her best friends, (he was the only one who went regularly to get readings), was finally getting married. To Dorothy. _I wonder how **he **feels..._

No.

She shouldn't think like that. Since that faithful day, she has vowed_ him_ out of her life. She knew that _he_ wasn't good. Her papa hold told Alicia that love wasn't suppose to be painful. Love is suppose to confuse, suppose to ignite, suppose to thrill, suppose to be everything but painful. That's why Papa left, Alicia thinks. Mom wasn't enough. It was okay that he left. It was okay that _he_ left.

No.

It wasn't. How about how she felt? How about how everyone else felt?_ He _was being selfish. So was Papa. Them both. It wasn't her fault, really. All she wanted was for them to stay. It wasn't her fault. She tried her best.

No.

It wasn't entirely their fault. It was hers too. She wasn't always particularly clear with how she felt. She should've told them about how she felt. Should've been more direct. They wouldn't know until she told them. Alicia never did, and probably never could again. Regret courses through her. _Why, why, why?_

"Hey."

Alicia looks to the left.

"Barrett?"

Barret seats himself across from her on the bench. He looks the other direction and slides something green to her side. Alicia catches it with her hand. _An emerald ring._ Her favorite. The one she wanted for her_ birthday_. He mumbles.

"I'm sorry."

Now she's confused.

"For what?"

His eyes sweep to her.

"You know what."

She nods.

"I'm sorry."

His head turns to her.

"For what?"

She grins and slowly moves her eyes to Dorothy.

"You know what."

The lines on his forhead increase, obviously telling Alicia that he totally does not get the point. She keeps smiling anyways.

"You confusing bit-"

"Barrett! This is a church!"

"...Fine."

_Meeting of Reconciliation._

* * *

"How 'bout Yue? She's a nice girl.."

"What? I don't know even know her!"

"How about Julia?"

"She's been seeing Max for years, Alicia!"

"Rosalind?"

"Doesn't she have a thing for Ray?"

"Cecilia? One of my besties!"

"Jake would kill me in my sleep..."

"...Mana? I would support that, she's my best friend...."

"No. I want to live a long life, not die by her father's hands!"

"Well then, who the heck is left? Tanya? My mom? "

"No, no, NO!"

"What should we do then?"

"Just give up Alicia."

"Wait! How about me? I'm beautiful, talented, charming, smart, exciting, great, awesome, pretty, and did I mention beautiful?"

"..No."

"Aw, you're such a party pooper Barrett!"

_Meeting of Maybes._

* * *

Alicia, now twenty, raises her head.

"Let's go see the flowers Barrett."

Barrett doesn't even look up.

"No."

"Com'on Barrett! It'll be fun!" she whines, like a child who has just gotten their toys taken away. Alicia gets up from the bench and stomps her foot on the floor.

"No."

"But Barrreeeettttt, come oooonnnn, just this once? Please?" Alicia does her best damsel-in-distress face: leaning herself down to his height (guys do like boobs; don't they?) and looks up at Barrett through her long eyelashes.

Barrett's breath hitches at the sight, but he remains strong.

"No."

She sits down next to him, wraps her arms around one of his roughly, and pushes her chest into his arm. Alicia leans in to his ear, causing him to inhale quickly.

_"Please?"_

Barrett quickly stands up and walks briskly over to the viewing area, a few blocks away.

"Is that a yes?" asks Alicia.

_Step. step. step. step. step._

"Yay! I guess so!"

_Meeting of Confusion._

* * *

Barrett's mind couldn't focus during the time they watched the flowers fall from the sky.

Everything was a blur, and he was pretty sure he was going to faint from over-thinking. _Can people do that? Faint from over-thinking?_

_Think calm, Barrett. _he told his mind.

_Calm._

Her hands softly grab onto one of his, unlike before.

_Calm._

She leans her head onto his shoulder, her large hat getting smushed between them.

_Calm._

"Barrett," she starts in her 'we-should-talk-about-emotions' voice softly, "how do you feel about me? Am I just a friend?"

_Calm._

"I..I....I.... I-"

_Calm._

"Oh. So that's that. Pfft. Now I want to cry. Such the lady's man, Barrett." she answers in a mocking tone, shifting her head to look away from him. Despite Alicia trying to stay strong, Barrett swears he hears sniffling.

_Calm._

_Calm._

_Calm._

_Cal-_

"Now you look here!", he snaps as he twirls her to face him, "I- and you - and I just don't know what's going on anymore! I suppose you do, since 'you're a fortune teller', but I don't! I don't know what's going on! I have no idea and I feel weird and you are too close and wearing too little and here!" -he shoves his scarf into her hands- "I don't know what to do and you're just so confusing and weird and-"

She plants a kiss on him to shut him up.

He stops talking.

She raises a brow.

His eyes widen.

She gives a small unlady-like snort.

His mouth drops open.

"Oh."

_Meeting of Realization._

* * *

She is deep in thought, a small frown gracing her lips. Barrett leans against her, head on her floppy hat. He yawns once, and slowly dozes off. Scrunched over and huddling next to Barrett for warmth, she snaps her fingers when an idea comes to her.

"I'll do it." Alicia says, determination in her voice.

"Huh?" Barrett mumbles, snapping awake from his nap.

"I said, I'll do it. I'll marry you."

"Okay, whatever you say Alicia.....wait, what?"

_Meeting of Decision._

* * *

They are sitting together on a bench in the main plaza. It is much like the day of Alicia's 'proposal'. He works up the nerve to tell her something important..

"_I'mgladI'mgonnagetmarriedtoyouAlicia._" he mutters.

"Oh, that's nice Barrett....wait, what?" She wasn't exactly paying attention....but who can blame her? You can stare into those deep ocean blue eyes of his for _forever_....

"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all." Barrett looks down, embarrassed. _Dammit. She didn't hear._

"Tell me now!" she demands, just like the princess- no, queen- she is.

He sticks out his tongue at her and runs off toward the fountain.

"Never!"

"You're such a child, Barrett!"

She chases after him this time.

"Says the one who's chasing me!"

"Oh, shut up Barrett!"

_Meeting of Play._

* * *

She looks up.

"Are ya nervous?" she asks.

"Of course! Who wouldn't be at their wedding?"

She raises her shoulders, drops them, and looks up thoughtfully.

"I donno. Me?"

He glares at her and snarls.

"How could you not be? This is your -our- wedding here!"

She gives him a lazy grin and a thumbs up. He knows what's coming next, and tries to stop her even though he knows it's futile.

"Oh no. No, no, no, no, no, no, --" She leans into him and grabs him by the collar, their faces only inches apart-

"I'm a fortune teller, so I knew about this all along!"

"GAGH!"

_Meeting of Eternity._

_

* * *

_

**You likey? There were some parts that need revision, but eh.**

**Feedback would be nice.... :P**


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